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Power Rangers Lost Galaxy
Power Rangers Lost Galaxy (often abbreviated as PRLG or simply Lost Galaxy) is the seventh season of the Power Rangers series. It is based on the Japanese Super Sentai television series Seijuu Sentai Gingaman (translated as Star Beasts Squadron Galaxy Man). Lost Galaxy is the first series to not be a continuation of the previous series (although it is an in-spirit sequel), with its own new cast and story. With the annual suit change that began with Power Rangers Zeo and the annual cast and story change starting with this series, this is the first series to follow the practice set by the Super Sentai series. Production In late 1998, after Power Rangers in Space ended with the two-part finale Countdown to Destruction (which ended the six year storyline that began in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers), the general belief was that the Power Rangers franchise would end with In Space. However, Destruction's ratings were enough that Saban chose to continue and produce future Power Rangers seasons as standalone stories. According to some trademark documents, the original title for Lost Galaxy was Power Rangers: Space Jungle. Saban observed and bought footage, costumes, props, and story elements from 1998 Super Sentai series Seijuu Sentai Gingaman, a nature themed Sentai. (The title Lost Galaxy was thought significant because the word "Ginga" is Japanese for "Galaxy".) The success of in Space meant that Lost Galaxy was reworked into a space-set show, an in-spirit sequel. This was often difficult for the writers as the stock footage was of a nature-based show with no space elements. Toku Rants interview with Jackie Marchand: 15:00 to 15:40 Whereas all of the previous series featured interconnections in their casts and characters, Lost Galaxy used an entirely new cast of characters to become the Power Rangers. It also began the trend of "Team up" episodes between the current team and past teams to fight a common enemy. In Lost Galaxy's case, the Space Power Rangers and Psycho Rangers returned in the series for the first full blown team-up episodes in series history. This tradition came from the Sentai and would become a part of Power Rangers in many future seasons. Valerie Vernon character was the only Ranger to be killed off. The reason being was that Vernon was diagnosed with leukemia and had to leave the series to undergo treatment; Saban still credited her, however, so they could assist in paying for her treatment. The treatments were fortunately successful, and Valerie is now leukemia-free. After recovering, the character was resurrected at the end of the season, and she reprised her role for a guest spot during the show's next incarnation the following season. Despite its stand-alone story, there were several ties to previous seasons (or Zordon Era). There were allusions to Zordon being the source of the Galaxy Power Rangers' powers; Paul Schrier and Jack Banning reprised their roles as Bulk and Professor Phenomenus, respectively. Alpha 6 and the Astro Megaship were used again and Melody Perkins reprised her role as Karone midway through the series. This is also the first season to have sentient Zords and feature the demise of a Power Ranger in battle, though Kendrix would be revived in the finale. Furio's costume came from In Space's' Sentai counterpart, Denji Sentai Megaranger, not Gingaman. This is one of only two times suits from one Sentai season were used in another's Power Rangers adaption. It would be repeated, perhaps more famously, in Power Rangers Wild Force. The Lost Galaxy season serves as a transitional series and a unique one in Power Rangers history. It is neither completely self-contained nor a direct continuation, but a bit of both. Future seasons would not begin to have completely independent stories until the following series, Lightspeed Rescue. Synopsis A year after the events of Power Rangers in Space, the Galactic Space Alliance has launched the space colony Terra Venture in search of a new world to colonize for Earth's people. Across the cosmos, the evil forces of Scorpius have invaded the planet Mirinoi to steal a set of legendary relics called the Quasar Sabers that sit in a stone altar. When a young native of the planet named Maya runs through a dimensional portal to find help, she appears in front of Terra Venture workers Kendrix Morgan, Kai Chen, and Mike Corbett, who are currently dealing with Mike's little brother Leo as he tries to smuggle his way onto the colony. Kai refuses to follow as the rest of his group return with Maya to Mirinoi, but is unable to ignore the situation for long and employs the Astro Megaship and its caretaker Damon Henderson to take him to the planet. When they reunite on Mirinoi, Leo, Kai, Damon, Maya, Kendrix, and Mike try to fight Scorpius's minions and in doing so draw the Quasar Sabers, allowing them to become the newest team of Power Rangers. In anger, Scorpius's general Furio turns everything to stone. Mike gives his life to protect his friends as they escape, and Leo is given the Red Quasar Saber from Mike to become the Galaxy Red Ranger. Aided by new Zords known as Galactabeasts, the Rangers protect Terra Venture from Scorpius and his generals Furio and Treacheron. An enigmatic warrior later comes to the Galaxy Rangers, the Magna Defender. Having lost his son Zika to Scorpius long ago, he is driven by vengeance and thinks nothing of the collateral damage he causes in pursuit of it. It is later discovered that the Magna Defender had saved Mike from his death on Mirinoi by absorbing his life into himself, and it is Mike's noble influence and Zika's memory that ultimately drives the Magna Defender to give up his life and save Terra Venture from a disaster that he had blindly created. Having found peace in his death, the Magna Defender gives his powers to Mike, allowing him to aid the Rangers in battle. Meanwhile, Scorpius has woven a cocoon to be used by his spoiled human daughter Trakeena so that she can embrace her true power. In a fit of selfishness, Trakeena refuses and flees to the planet Onyx, where she meets the warrior Villamax and his aide Kegler. As they train Trakeena in the ways of combat, the manipulative villain Deviot sides with Scorpius in an attempt to take the cocoon's power for his own. Knowing that he won't let him near the prize so long as he lives, Deviot manipulates Scorpius into attacking the Rangers by claiming that they have his daughter and he is critically wounded in battle. Trakeena returns to her father's side as he dies from his wounds, and Scorpius leaves all his power and forces to her, infuriating Deviot. Swearing to avenge her father, Trakeena continues to attack Terra Venture and has the infamous Psycho Rangers revived to destroy her enemies. When word of their revival reaches Earth, the Space Power Rangers rush to the colony to aid the Galaxy Rangers in destroying the dangerous doppelgangers. Psycho Pink manages to survive their attack and escapes to obtain a deadly weapon known as the Savage Sword, but Kendrix gives her life to destroy the last of the Psycho Rangers. Her Quasar Saber is later found by Karone, the woman who had once terrorized the galaxy as Astronema, and she is chosen to become the new Pink Galaxy Ranger. Deviot eventually takes extreme measures and recites an ancient spell to send Terra Venture into uncharted and very dangerous territory: The Lost Galaxy. This cursed realm is ruled by Captain Mutiny, who wants to enslave Terra Venture's crew to work his gem mines. To make matters worse, Terra Venture's systems become damaged, putting it and the Galaxy Rangers on an urgent mission to escape the Lost Galaxy and find a planet before the colony dies. Mike is ultimately forced to give up his Magna Defender powers to ensure Terra Venture's survival and escape from Captain Mutiny's forces. Upon escaping the Lost Galaxy, Terra Venture finally finds a habitable planet and sets course for approach, while Deviot tries to kill Trakeena and drags her into the cocoon. Deviot is destroyed as his body is absorbed into Trakeena's, but the fusion also destroys Trakeena's sanity and she begins an assault to wipe out everybody and everything in Terra Venture. The Rangers are forced to sacrifice the Astro Megaship in order to protect the evacuating colonists, and Trakeena resorts to using the cocoon as a final act of defiance. Now incredibly powerful, she attempts to drop the colony wreckage onto the planet, and the Rangers are barely able to fight her to a standstill. Leo seemingly destroys Trakeena in a point-blank energy blast that nearly kills him, and the Galactabeasts are able to catch the wreckage in time to save the day. With the colonists safe and Trakeena gone, the Galaxy Rangers explore the planet and discover that they are right back where they started: Mirinoi. As the Rangers return the Quasar Sabers to the stone altar, the petrified world and its people are restored to life, and Kendrix is revived as well. Their mission done, the Rangers and their friends celebrate. Characters Rangers :Main article:Galaxy Rangers Allies * Alpha 6 * DECA * Space Rangers * Guardian * Lightspeed Rangers * Zika Civilians * Farkas "Bulk" Bulkmeier * Professor Phenomenus * Eugene "Skull" Skullovitch * Galactic Space Alliance ** Commander Stanton ** High Councilor Renier ** Councilor Brody * Shondra * Jera * Jodie Stanton Villains *List of Lost Galaxy Monsters for Scorpius and Trakeena's Army & Captain Mutiny's crew Scorpius/Trakeena's Army * Scorpius * Trakeena * Furio * Treacheron * Deviot * Villamax * Kegler * Stingwingers * Scorpius and Trakeena's Monsters * Psycho Rangers Captain Mutiny's Crew * Captain Mutiny * Barbarax * Titanisaur * Hexuba * Swabbies * Captain Mutiny's Monsters **Rocketron **Grunchor **Rojomon **Nightmare Arsenal Zords Ships * Terra Venture * Astro Megaship * Scorpion Stinger Episodes VHS/DVD Releases VHS *Power Rangers Lost Galaxy: The Power of Teamwork Overcomes All **''Quasar Quest Part 1 & 2'' **''Race To The Rescue'' *Power Rangers Lost Galaxy: Return of the Magna Defender **''The Magna Defender'' **''The Sunflower Search'' **''Orion Rising'' **''Orion Returns'' **''Redemption Day'' DVD *The Best of the Power Rangers: The Ultimate Rangers **''To The Tenth Power'' *Power Rangers Lost Galaxy (Complete Season) RC2 *Power Rangers: From Mighty Morphin to Lost Galaxy (TimeLife Exclusive) *Power Rangers Lost Galaxy: The Complete Series (Shout! Factory) 600 prd power rangers 01.jpg|Power Rangers: From Mighty Morphin to Lost Galaxy (TimeLife Exclusive) Notes * Power Rangers Lost Galaxy is the first season: ** To air after the Zordon Era. Continuing the series' gradual slide into the Super Sentai formula of changing to a new teams and storylines every season, Lost Galaxy is the first to start out with a new cast, storyline, set and villains which are largely unrelated to the previous seasons. However, it also contains ties to the Zordon Era that keep it in continuity with those seasons. Zordon Era elements that are present include: *** Alpha 6, who was in Power Rangers Turbo and in Space. Lost Galaxy is also the final season to feature an Alpha robot in a regularly appearing role. *** Karone (the former Astronema), the Astro Megaship, and the reappearance of the Space Rangers and Psycho Rangers, all from Power Rangers in Space. *** One or more characters native to Angel Grove, California, which was the series' setting in the Zordon Era seasons. The city itself appears only in the first Lost Galaxy episode, "Quasar Quest". ** Not to take place on Earth, instead taking place on the space colony Terra Venture. As such, it is also the first season not to take place in the aforementioned city of Angel Grove, and the first not to feature Angel Grove High School. ** Not feature Skull, one half of the series' longtime comedic duo Bulk and Skull, as his actor Jason Narvy had left the series after Power Rangers in Space to attend college. As a result, this season is the first to feature Bulk without Skull; it is also the last to feature Bulk in a regular role until Power Rangers Samurai. ** To feature Rangers who are not teenagers or children, but adults with professions. ** To feature sentient Zords (the Galactabeasts), though Titanus and Tor from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers may also count. As such, it is also the first season to feature sentient Zord deaths (Torozord, Centaurus Megazord, and Stratoforce Megazord). ** Not to have its Rangers equipped with the teleportation ability that previous teams had. ** To have its Rangers permanently destroy the main villains. The majority of the previous seasons' main villains were instead destroyed by Zordon's Energy Wave, in some cases several seasons after they were introduced, and not by the Rangers themselves. ** Not to feature bloopers playing over its ending credits, as footage of one of the season's Megazords assembling would be seen instead. This trend would continue until midway through Power Rangers Wild Force. ** To feature monsters that can grow on their own without the help of any outside forces. ** To feature siblings serving on the same team of Rangers. ** To feature Rangers wearing stock clothes while demorphed. This trend would also continue through Wild Force. ** To feature a previous team's Megazord in its team-up episode. ** To feature independent stories for each episode while using certain action footage from its Sentai counterpart. ** To feature a non-Zord character that can combine with a Zord. ** To have a three-part finale. * Lost Galaxy is the only season thus far to feature the death of a Ranger in the line of duty, in this case Kendrix Morgan, who is revived in the finale. * Lost Galaxy is the final Power Rangers series from the 1990s. * Because Seijuu Sentai Gingaman vs. Megaranger was in production at the time, the Gingaman villains were initially unavailable and replaced by the likes of Scorpius, Trakeena and the Sting Wingers. After that Sentai teamup ended, the Sentai villains slowly became available and slowly began being adapted. **Furio's costume is also not from Gingaman, but rather from an unadapted monster from Denji Sentai Megaranger. * Episode 7, "Double Duty", is the series' 300th episode. * Lost Galaxy presently owns the highest on-screen death toll of the series thus far: Magna Defender, Scorpius, Furio, Treacheron, Villamax, The Guardian, Loyax, Trakeena, Deviot, Captain Mutiny, Barbarax, Stratoforce Megazord, Centaurus Megazord, Torozord, DECA, and Kendrix (though she is revived in the finale). * Although it contributes to the season's title, the actual Lost Galaxy plot does not come into play until the later episodes of the season. * It has been stated by some sources that this season was the most expensive to date to produce. * The position of Magna Defender as a "Ranger" is a source of debate among fans. Many state that because he was able to morph and controlled a Zord, he is a Ranger. Others argue that because his name doesn't include the word "Ranger", he does not qualify outside Ranger-like allies or allies. Advertisements for Lost Galaxy figures would dub him the "Magna Defender Power Ranger", but whether this term is official or not is often debated. * This was the second season where the entire team (as opposed to solely the Red Ranger) received a power-up, with the addition of the Lights of Orion (although the Red Ranger did later receive an Armored Ranger power up unique to himself). The first was in [[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Season 3)|the third season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]], with the addition of the Metallic Armor. * This season is, thus far, the only season to feature a villain from a previous season becoming a Power Ranger (albeit temporarily). * Lost Galaxy is the only season thus far not to feature any of the Rangers' parents. * Lost Galaxy is the season where the original Zords and Megazord were introduced the latest. The Galactabeasts are first seen in episode three ("Race to the Rescue"), but their Zord forms and the Galaxy Megazord are not seen until episode five ("Homesick"). * "To the Tenth Power" and "The Power of Pink", the season's team-up episodes with Power Rangers in Space, do not use any footage from the comparative Sentai team-up Seijuu Sentai Gingaman vs. Megaranger. * Lost Galaxy is the second (and, thus far, last) season to run for 45 episodes. The first was Turbo. * Leo Corbett, Damon Henderson, Kai Chen, Trakeena, Galaxy Megazord, Magna Defender, and the Stingwingers all appear in the 2007 Power Rangers: Super Legends video game. Kai Chen in particular is an unlockable character, accessed when the letters R-A-N-G-E-R are collected during the Lost Galaxy storyline. * The uniforms for Terra Venture's military are "Federation Body Armors" used in the 1997 film Starship Troopers. Coincidentally, both series feature the protagonists fighting against bugs. * A long-held rumor once stated that the Japanese dub of Lost Galaxy pulled in better ratings in Japan than the series' actual Sentai counterpart, Seijuu Sentai Gingaman. * This is the only United States-filmed season of Power Rangers in which Richard Steven Horvitz does not provide any voice over work. * Lost Galaxy is the first known non-Zordon era Power Rangers series to feature one of the Zordon era characters return as major recurring characters of the Power Rangers’ next eras after Zordon’s death, followed by Dino Thunder, Mystic Force and Samurai. * As nod to its opening song lyrics, Lost Galaxy has some inspirations from Star Wars series, such as exploring far far away across galaxy as the series’ main motifs. * This is the Fourth Power Rangers show not to use the same thing to grow their monsters as their Sentai Counterpart for Lost Galaxy its that the monsters from their Sentai Counterpart Seijuu Sentai Gingaman known as Majin grew by drinking Baluba-X out of a container based on their group Majin of the Sambash Majin Gang drank Baluba-X out of a Liquor Bottle, Majin of the Budoh Majin Mob drank Baluba-X out of a Hyoutan Container, Majin of the Ilies Majin Tribe drank Baluba-X out of a Leather Water Skin, And Majin of the Battobas Majin Corps drank Baluba-X out of a small Keg Barrel so since they used objects used in real life to contain alcoholic drinks such a Whiskey Saban changed it since Power Rangers was aimed for kids. Reception and Ratings Lost Galaxy's first half gained the highest ratings ever in the series since Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers (there has yet to be a following season to beat its ratings). However, when the series entered its second half, ratings began to decline (before the wake of the following season, Lightspeed Rescue). The reason is due to Saban choosing to promote their adaption of Digimon Adventure (Digimon: Digital Monsters) over Lost Galaxy, going as far as switching time-slots during Lost Galaxy's seasonal hiatus (which began May 22, 1999 and ended September 25, 1999). A General reception for Lost Galaxy among the Power Rangers fanbase is "generally positive". They praise the series for its darker tone (as they did with Power Rangers in Space) and ambition but take issue with the execution of its overall storyline and plot holes. In relation to its merchandise, however, Lost Galaxy's action figure sales was successful. External links * Power Rangers Lost Galaxy Power Rangers - The Official Power Rangers Website de: Lost Galaxy fr: L'Autre Galaxie Category:Shows Dubbed in Japanese Category:Post-Zordon Era Category:1990's Power Rangers Series